diff --git a/smmapdfw/smmapd/smmapd.c b/smmapdfw/smmapd/smmapd.c
index 9f8a7c6..b1b8fcc 100644
--- a/smmapdfw/smmapd/smmapd.c
+++ b/smmapdfw/smmapd/smmapd.c
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ void * networker(void * arg) {
 
     if (!dispatcher_result) {
       //      answer[0] = '\0';
-      answer->buf[0] = '\0';
+      htbuffer_clear(answer);
       dispatcher_result = containers_dispatcher(container_handle, input, answer);
       syslog(LOG_DEBUG, "networker: dispatcher result: %d, answer: %s", dispatcher_result, answer->buf);
     }